Heartbreaking defeat for our Senior hurlers:

SAHC: Ballymartle – 2:17, Kilworth - 2:16

On a scorching Saturday evening Kilworth faced Ballymartle in round two of the senior hurling championship. Ballymartle were first to get themselves on the scoreboard in what was set to be a tough and competitive battle on a beautifully prepared Grenagh pitch. Kilworth were quick to respond to this, with 2 fast frees from Noel McNamara. Excellent defending displayed from the Kilworth backline, resulted in a free that goalkeeper Kieran Walsh pointed from a long distance. 2 more points from Ballymartle saw the sides level in the first quarter at 3 points a piece. Kilworth were eager to take control with 2 points from half forwards Will Condon and Liam Whelan. However, Ballymartle took control with four points of their own which saw them 2 points ahead.

Kilworth needed a score which came from full forward Noel McNamara. Ballymartle responded with a point before Kilworth made the game their own. Great fighting from mid – fielder Jeremy Saich set up Will Condon for a motivating point. 2 points in a row from Liam Whelan, layed off from Brian Sheehan put Kilworth in the lead by a point. Noely Mac stretched this lead to 2 points by winning and pointing his own free. While Kilworth did not create goal chances in the last round, corner forward Jamie Sheehan proved to be a big threat to the Ballymartle goals today. James McCarthy and Noel McNamara set up Sheehan to rattle the Ballymartle net. Goalkeeper Kieran Walsh made 2 outstanding saves, maintaining Kilworths momentum nearing the end of the first half. Will Condon added another point to the scoreboard in the 34^th minute which had Kilworth in a great position, leading by 6 points. After keeping Ballymartle scoreless for 12 minutes, they eventually split the posts before the half-time whistle blew leaving the half time score Kilworth 1.11, Ballymartle 0.09. Kilworth were using the big pitch to their advantage, keeping the ball out wide in the first half.

Kilworth were first to add to the score board in the first minute of the second half, with a free from Noel McNamara. Ballymartle did not want Kilworth to edge further ahead and scored 3 points in a row, lessening the margin to 3 points. This unnerved the Kilworth team, but a super goal from Jamie Sheehan gave Kilworth a 6 point cushion once more. Not to be outdone, Ballymartle found the Kilworth net in the 9^th minute of the second half, quickly followed by a point to see them trail by 2 points. Will Condon got a well needed score but Ballymartle answered with a point of their own. Jamie Sheehan got on the scoreboard once more adding to his tally of 2:01. Great defending from centre-back Eoin McGrath prevented Ballymartle of a goal chance. The next 7 minutes saw no score from either side until Noel McNamara scored a free which saw Kilworth lead by 4 in the 19^th minute. Ballymartle answered this within seconds making the gap 3 points to which Kilworth couldn’t pull further away from, despite a few chances. A point for Ballymartle tightened the gap to two points. Noel McNamara scoring from play saw Kilworth lead by a goal in the 58^th minute. The remaining minutes of this match was nail biting stuff and possession was very important at this stage of the game. Ballymartle brought the gap back to 2 points. What was looking to be a promising and well needed win for Kilworth, turned out to be a devastating defeat when disaster struck in the last minute, with Darren McCarthy for Ballymartle shaking the Kilworth net to steal the match from Kilworth.

This was a very hard and disappointing loss for Kilworth to take after being the better team, well within reach of winning this match. The devastating loss of key players due to injury at a critical time in the second half proved to be a burden too much to carry. Commiserations to all involved, the lads gave it their all! We must now lick our wounds, regroup and prepare to take on Bride Rovers in the next round of the Co-Op Superstores SAHC.

Kilworth team and scorers: Kieran Walsh (0-1 free), Maurice McNamara, Nathan Byrne, Austin O’Hara, Dave Twomey, Eoin McGrath, Mark O’ Connor, James McCarthy, Jeremy Saich, Eoin Carey, Liam Whelan (0-3), Will Condon (0-4), Jamie Sheehan (2-1), Noel McNamara (0-7, 0-6 frees) and Brian Sheehan.

Subs used: (19) Mick O’Callaghan for (5) Dave Twomey, (18) Paddy Moakley for (7) Mark O’ Connor, (20) Dan Regan for (6) Eoin McGrath.